


Broken

by WingedLadyColette



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, F/M, Jedi, Sith, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-09-15 01:38:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9213536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingedLadyColette/pseuds/WingedLadyColette
Summary: Padme, Anakin and Obi-Wan all stared at one another, not a single one of them knowing how they got there. One moment, they were on Mustafar, the next they were on Coruscant.





	1. Mustafar

Padme snuggles closer to his heat, shifting a bit so that she can bury her face into his clavicle and throat. She breaths in deeply, smelling his deodorant, shampoo and a faint hint of cologne. She runs her fingers slowly, and lazily, up and down the smooth skin of his side. The slide over the ridges of his ribs, dip down to his small waist before rising a bit at his prominent hips. She can feel his skin bumping out in gooseflesh at the loving ministrations. He sighs softly above her, his arm over her shoulder shifts a bit but doesn't obstruct her movements much.

She opens her eyes to see his Adam's apple bob a bit as he swallows, then lets out another little sigh. She can't help herself. She leans forward a bit and kisses the hallow of his throat.

She smiles sweetly. Like usual, at some point during the night, as per usual, he kicked off the covers, not caring for them. But, knowing that she is easily chilled, he is warming her with his body heat. It used to annoy her having to wake up five or six times during the night to try and wrap the covers around herself to keep her warm with the fan above them cooling the room because he can't sleep when it's too warm. She used to tell him time and again to just leave the covers on him, it wasn't going to kill him, or at least don't kick them off so much that she wouldn't be able to still have a hold over them, and eventually this became his solution.

She's not exactly mad by it.

She gently removes his arm from around her and rests it on her spot as she pushes to her feet. She turns to see the darkness of the early morning still keeping the room favorable for her husband. He got home late last night. She had such a long day yesterday that she hadn't even woken up when he came in. She loves the moments she falls asleep curled up into a little ball, only to wake up in the arms of the man she loves.

He must have had a long couple of days too, because usually the smallest shift wakes him up, but he didn't even move when she extracted herself from her. But that's okay. It is still early and while she wished she could stay in that moment longer, she had an early meeting in a few hours with the Chancellor that she had to prepare for. A part of her wanted to cancel it, but she has been vying for this meeting for a while and she can't be the one to call it off. Hopefully it'll be finished soon and by the time she returns, he'll still be here waiting for her.

She goes to shower, washing her really long curly, dark brown hair with shampoo and conditioner, then wash her hair before she hops out and dries her hair with a towel before wrapping it around her body. She sits on the chair in the corner, tying the towel in front of her before gathering up her hair and placing it into the drying machine up to her forehead. It automatically turns on and dries her hair in about two minutes. She stands up with her long, dry hair sliding down her back and bottom and walks out of the bathroom.

She spots her husband, now lying in the center of he bed on his stomach with his head turned away and long curly tresses splayed across the pillow. Both of their hair was curly but she loved his so much more she could just run her fingers through the tresses again and again without getting bored. She takes a moment to stare at his tanned back rising and falling slightly as he sleeps before she turns and walks into her closet to change.

Padme is sitting at her vanity with the lights dimmed so that she can fix up her hair when C-3PO comes into the room, locates her and walks over.

"Mistress Padme," C-3PO says, "there was a call from the Chancellor's office."

"Is something wrong?" she asks, turning around a bit to look up at the yellow droid. "Is the Chancellor alright?"

C-3PO nods. "Yes, Mistress Padme, but something appears to have come up, the Chancellor is going to have to reschedule your meeting this morning. They will give you a call to set it up at the next convenient time."

Normally, Padme would be a bit frazzled, but in fact, this time, she's excited.

"Thank you, 3PO," Padme says before letting her hair settle down around her shoulders again. She stands up, offering a long, loving glance over at her husband, still sleeping soundly, before leaving her bedroom, enter the living room and going over to the kitchen. It's been too long since she's made a meal and forever since she's made a meal for someone else. Never for her husband.

There is a bit of liberty in cooking, not because it's her job as a woman or anything along those lines, but simply because she used to enjoy it before her time began to belong to everyone but herself. It's very rare that she would have so much time to do something that she wants. And right now, she wants to cook something - which she enjoys - for her husband - who she loves.

"Ani," Padme whispers, running her nails up and down his hot back, watching the gooseflesh appear again. "Ani, wake up."

Anakin hums softly but doesn't wake up. Padme looks around for a moment, considering what to do next before lifting up her long dress and kicking off her shoes, she wasn't going to need them anyway. Still holding her dress up, she steps up onto the bed on either side of Anakin's hips before lowering down on top of him. Anakin lets out a low groan that turns into light laughter.

Padme places her hands on the curve of his lower back and runs her nails soothingly up and down in slow rhythmic movements. Anakin lets out another groan turning his head a bit and opening his eyes to smile up at her.

"Morning..." he mumbles.

She leans down, her hair falling around them, and kisses him sweetly on the cheek. She feels him smile more against her lips and she can't help but smile more back at him. She pulls back and runs her fingers through his soft dirty blond curls lovingly, pushing them out of the way of his face so that she can kiss his temple, then the scar over his eye, then his lips once he's turned around more so she has better access to them.

Anakin twists around a bit before he grabs onto Padme's hips and lift them up so that he can roll onto his back before settling her hips back down onto his own. Padme leans back a bit, running her long, manicured nails along his scalp, pushing his hair back, away from his eyes.

"Good morning," Padme finally says.

Anakin hums softly, closing his eyes are her loving ministrations. "That feels really nice," he mumbles. She keeps at it for a few minutes. At first it looks like he's about to fall asleep, but then he opens his eyes and just stares at her, watching with beautiful steely blue eyes surrounded by mile long thick lashes. Padme could just stare into those beautiful eyes forever.

"Do you have a meeting this morning?" he asks softly.

Padme slowly shakes her head. "No. Not anymore. It was canceled. Are you hungry?"

Anakin rolls his shoulders a bit, trying to maneuver into a more comfortable position before stilling. His hands firmly on her hips stop her from being able to move to give him a bit of space. She didn't want to move anyway, so she supposed it worked out.

"I am," Anakin says. "Where are we ordering from this time? Isn't it still a bit early?" He spares a glance out the window to see that it is finally starting to light up, but he was right because it was still early.

"Yes," Padme admits, "but we aren't ordering anything. I actually made you breakfast if you are willing to try it."

Anakin's eyes light up. "Really?"

"It's nothing special," Padme says quickly. "Remember I told you that I liked cooking? Well, since I had the morning to myself, I wanted to welcome you home properly. Do you want to eat now or do you want to sleep a little bit longer?"

"I'll eat now," Anakin says, grinning broadly. "I've been meaning to try some ever since you told me. I can't wait."

Padme smiles, leaning down to press her lips lovingly against Anakin's. At that moment, their lives were perfect. Anakin was with her, the war was close to being over, she was pregnant with a child from the man that she loved whole-heartedly. Yes, this moment was perfect.

 

Padme can't stop herself, running down the ramp. As soon as she sees him, she runs at him as fast as she can and throws herself into his arms. His hood was pulled up over his head so that she couldn't see his face, but she didn't care. She knew it was him and he opened his arms for her. It was him. He was alive, and safe. No matter what other scary shit was swirling around them, at least she knew that for certain. She could feel the heat of his body in his arms, so different from the fiery world of Mustafar around them.

She reaches up and yanks down his hood, not even bothering to look at his face and buries her hand in his hair, tangling her fingers in the soft, but sweaty locks. She didn't care. He was live. He was breathing. That was all that mattered. If she could just stay in this blissful moment forever, she would. His arms around her tight, his breathing in her ear, his chest so close to her own with her pregnant belly being the only thing to separate them.

For a single, beautiful moment, everything was perfect.

They would go back to Coruscant, meet up with Obi-Wan, and then somehow the three of them would be able to figure a way out of this. Or at least whatever their next step is. She squeezes him so tightly. He lifts her up off the ground so that he doesn't have to hunch over any more and Padme's feet dangle, no longer touching the ground due to his superior height.

His arms around her tighten too and Padme squeezes her eyes shut tightly, wanting to ignore everything else. If there was a way to blast away all of the bad in their lives, she wouldn't do it if she was denied this moment.

The death of the Jedi, the rise of Emperor Palpatine and the fall of the Republic all didn't matter in this moment. So long as Anakin was safe, and hers, they would figure their way out of this. Somehow form a rebellion to take back control of the situation. Or, at least something. But all of that can wait for now. She can just keep living in this moment. She can feel shifting in her belly and despite the raging lava storm around them, the moment is perfect.

"Ani," Padme whispers, turning to kiss his cheek before hugging him again, "thank goodness you are alright. I was so worried."

"I'm sorry," Anakin says softly, and there is a hitch to his voice that doesn't make sense to her. She tries not to over-analyze it.

"It's terrible, Anakin, the Jedi temple was attacked, the Republic has fallen, we have to get out of here and get somewhere safe," she says, frantically, pulling back finally to look at him. "It's not safe for the Jedi now." She stops, blinking rapidly, not understanding what she is looking at.

Anakin's head is tilted downward a bit, but he raises his eyes slowly, they glitter in the glow of the lava a sulfuric reddish-yellow instead of the beautiful steely blue they were the last time - and every time before that - she saw them. They were a disgusting color that marred his natural beauty. At first she just stared at him before she slowly extracts her arms from around him and takes a slow step back, not sure she's seeing what she thinks she is. It's got to be a trick of the light somehow. It can't be true.

Her eyebrows pull together tightly. "Anakin..." She starts shaking her head.

Anakin grabs onto her arms and holds her in place. "Padme," he says, his voice low and tense. "I need you to understand that I did this for us. For our family. Now we can be together, out in the open, and not have to worry about who sees us and what they think. We can be together."

"The Jedi..." Padme says softly, her body starting to shake.

"They deserved what they got," Anakin says, shaking his head. "They were ruining everything. Doing everything they could to hold us back, stop us from being together!"

Padme's breath leaves her chest. "The Younglings..."

Anakin pauses, turning his unfamiliar eyes toward her. "Padme..." she starts to pull away but he holds onto her tightly. "Listen to me," he says slowly, staring deeply into her eyes. "I know what this looks like, but I made sure that it was quick and painless. They didn't feel anything."

Padme chokes on the air she's trying so desperately to fill her lungs with. "You killed... younglings?" She rasps, her voice cracking. "You killed babies? I... I don't know you anymore..." Tears start streaming down her face.

Anakin cups her face with one hand, pulling her closer and wrapping his arm around her with the other. "Padme," Anakin says, "I love you. It'll be okay. I know you must be feeling horrible, but trust me, everything is going to start looking up, I promise you. Everything is going to be okay from here on out." He pulls her tighter to him as she weakly tries to pull away. "Padme, please. Please look at me."

Through her tears she tries to try and make eye contact with Anakin but she can't really see and she's crying too hard to be able to control herself but if he wasn't holding her so tightly, she would have fallen to the floor long ago.

"I can't believe you did that..." Padme sobs, her entire body shaking with the force of her tears. "I don't know you. I don't know you anymore..."

Anakin kisses her cheeks and holds her tightly to his chest. "No, you do. You do know me! I'm the same person I always was. I did this for us. Now we can be together!"

"On the blood of children!" Padme cries, pushing weakly against his chest. "I don't want this! I don't want this!"

"The war is over!" Anakin says quickly, as if that will suddenly make this entire thing okay somehow. "I've finished off the Separatist leaders! The war is over! Just like you've wanted. I did this for you! For our child! For our family!"

Padme starts crying harder, her knees going weak. "For me?" She sobs. "You killed so many people because of me?"

"For us!" Anakin insists. "It's going to be better this way!"

"Without our friends? Our family?" She says incredulously. "How could this be good? We could have been happy! Why did you do this, Anakin, why?" She pounds her fists against his chest weakly. "How could you do this?"

Anakin forces her to look at him again. The skin around his eyes are bright red and tears are sliding down his cheek and Padme could see it. Deep, deep in her heart, he was in unbelievable pain. He knew this was wrong. He knew that he shouldn't have done this. He knew he was losing her and he was becoming desperate. Anything he could do to keep her with him, he was going to do it. All this killing and death is ruining him too. He isn't blinded by the Dark Side. His desperation is causing him to do things he normally wouldn't do and it's killing him but he doesn't know what else to do, he's losing himself by being pulled in so many different directions.

"I love you," Anakin cries, cupping her face with his hands. "I love you, please don't say this."

"You are going down a path I can't follow," Padme cries, furiously wiping her tears away as Anakin's hand settle on her hips to keep her in place. "You're breaking my heart!"

"Don't say that," Anakin pleads. "Don't say you can't stay with me! I'll make everything better. I promise! Just tell me how! Tell me, Padme, please! Please don't leave me!" Anakin presses his forehead against hers, wetting her face with both her tears and his own. "Please! Please!" His grip on her face tightening.

"Anakin, you're hurting me," Padme cries, her voice shaking and cracking. Anakin jerks hand hands away from her face before grabbing her arms again.

"I'm sorry," he whispers desperately. "I'm sorry!"

Padme takes a few, shuttering breaths, shivering a bit. She's so torn. She doesn't know what to do. She loves him so much. She can't believe that their lives have turned out this way. She shouldn't want to be with him. She should run while she's got the chance, figure a way out of this later, but she doesn't just want to leave him. Despite everything he's done, she loves him. He seems genuinely remorseful, but stuck in a vicious cycle he doesn't seem to know how to escape from. Can she really let the man who killed younglings around her own children? Can she even see him as her husband anymore? She certainly can't live in the new Galactic Empire, but then where does she go?

Padme starts to cry again, doubling over a bit as her shaking body is hurting her stomach. "I love you," she whispers.

Anakin leans closer. "What? What did you say?"

"I love you," Padme whispers, looking up at him through teary eyes. "I don't know if I can do this, Anakin. This is everything that I stand against. You killed babies, Anakin! How am I suppose to react to that?"

Anakin presses his face close to hers, shaking his head a bit. "Don't say that. Don't think that. We can work this out. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please, don't say this! Don't do this! I will make this better. I promise!"

"How?" Padme's voice cracks. Despite everything he's done, there is still good in him. She just knows it. She can feel it.

Anakin's lower lip starts to tremble. "I don't know. I don't know what to do! I..." His eyes widen as if the full weight of what he's done has come crashing down on him and his legs give out and he hits his knees on the hard rock beneath him. "Oh... oh my..." He doubles over, his entire body shaking. "What have I done? By the Force!" Padme quickly steps away in time for him to puke onto he dirt, his body trembling even more.

Padme lowers down next to him, rubbing his back. She's torn and frightened by everything that has happened recently, but she can't just ignore him or his pain. Slowly, and awkwardly, she lowers onto her knees next to him.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," Anakin sobs, threading his hands through his hair. "What have I done? I didn't want this! I just wanted to be strong enough to protect you! I just wanted to keep everyone safe! I ruined everything! I ruined it all!"

Padme could feel it, like an actual pressure around her. Through wet lashes, she looks around to see rocks and droplets of lava starting to float up into the air. She can even hear the groaning of her ship as the metal starts to warp, and she knew it was the Force. She wasn't sensitive to the Force, but she knew that Anakin was exceedingly powerful and when he lost control of his emotions, things tended to start moving, and crunching.

"I'm a monster," Anakin's voice is ragged and deep, like he's lost himself in his emotions and the Force is a swirling maelstrom around him. Padme can feel the tug at her braid and her clothes but he's rational minded enough not to hurt her. Yet. "What have I done?" Anakin moans in pain. "I killed Master Windu! I killed fellow knights and masters and padawan! I killed younglings! What have I done? Oh." The semi-stable chunk of rock that they are on starts to shake and crack.

"Anakin!" Padme cries out in surprise. "You have to calm down!"

The lava, in streams, start to trickle up into the sky.

"Anakin!" Padme calls out, shaking his shoulder. "Anakin, you have to stop!"

"Monster! I'm a monster!"

"Anakin!" Padme pleads. "Please, stop!"

"Anakin!"

Everything stills. Padme and Anakin both look up to see Obi-Wan, standing at the edge of her ship's ramp, hands on his hips, eyes narrowed as he stares at them.

"Master," Anakin says softly, drawing Padme's attention to him to see his eyes an agonizing, but beautiful steel blue color again. "Master, please. Please!"

Padme isn't sure what Anakin was begging for, but she didn't like it. His torn, broken eyes locked onto his master, looking like a man who's lost everything. The weight of what he's done barreling down on him. It's like he's been spending the last few days with a veil over his head, where he could see what he was doing but couldn't really stop himself, and it's like everything is coming to him at once. The weight of what he's done is crushing him, probably somehow enhanced through the Force.

The lava falls back down into the pools creating big splashes, but not big enough to get at them. Obi-Wan looks around for a moment before stepping off of the ramp and making his way over to them, cloak billowing behind him, eyebrows pulled together tightly. He drops his hands but keeps walking in long, purposeful steps, eyes locked onto them.

"Master," Anakin sobs, voice and body shaking. "Master, I did something terrible." Tears slide down his cheeks. "I killed them, Master. I killed them all." He releases his hold on his hair and pushes the heels of his palms into his eyes. "I thought I was... oh what have I done! He told me he could... I just..." He sits back on his hunches, rocking back and forth, slightly.

Anakin lets out a low moan of pain.

Obi-Wan stops in front of him, on the other side of the puke, offering it barely a glance, before stepping around it and lowering down onto a knee on Anakin's other side.

"You are the Chosen One," Obi-Wan finally says, his voice chilling. "You were to destroy the Sith, not join them. You've destroyed everything that we've stood for. You betrayed the Jedi, you betrayed the Republic, and you betrayed me. You allowed the Dark Lord to manipulate you into destroying it all. What have you to say to that!" As he goes on, his voice raised higher and higher until he was yelling. "Damn it, Anakin, look at me! You have to face me! I am not just going to go away!"

Anakin drops his hands onto his thighs and looks at Obi-Wan, the skin around his eyes are beat red, but his irises are still blue. His eyes lock onto Obi-Wan's looking less like a twenty-four year old man, and more like a young boy, desperately looking to his older brother, and fatherly figure, for guidance. He is truly a lost soul, seeking something to cling to. Padme could feel it in her bones, there truly was still good in him.

"I've ruined everything," Anakin says weakly, looking at Obi-Wan. "I've destroyed everything."

Obi-Wan's jaw works, as if trying to control his anger. "I know you have," Obi-Wan says chillingly, but it's in that moment, that the pain is revealed. He meant what he said. Anakin had truly betrayed him, and he felt it so keenly. The worst part about betrayal is it is always by someone one loves and trusts. "I loved you, Anakin," Obi-Wan says, brokenly. "You were my brother, and you betrayed me!"

"I'm sorry," Anakin whispers. "I am so sorry."

"What are we going to do?" Padme asks, still rubbing Anakin's back. "We can't go back to Coruscant. It's not safe there. Palpatine will be looking for the remaining Jedi, and he won't let Anakin go."

"Are you going to come with us?" Obi-Wan asks, staring at Anakin with a hard gaze. "Or have you dedicated herself to your new master?"

"Master," Anakin moans, pained, "please..."

"Padme is coming with me," Obi-Wan says, grabbing Anakin's jaw and forcing him to look at him. "The baby is yours, right?" Anakin doesn't respond. "Right?" Obi-Wan snaps, obviously having lost his patience. Anakin nods. "Right, she isn't going back to Coruscant. If they are your child, the Sith Lord is going to kill them, if not convert them somehow. And your love for Padme will get her killed too. I will protect them."

"Please, Master," Anakin says softly, "let me come with. Please. I wont do anything wrong!"

"Why should I trust you?" Obi-Wan snarls. "I have spent the better part of fifteen years with you, never once imagining that you would betray me, but you did! Why should I trust you with the delicate lives of your wife and unborn child?"

Anakin looks physically pained by his words. "I would never hurt them. Never!"

"Like you wouldn't hurt younglings?" Obi-Wan snaps. "Care-givers who don't even know how to wield a lightsaber? Padawan's who have barely even begun their training? Like you would never hurt them, Anakin?"

Padme is sickened by his words. "Obi-Wan..." She looks at him through wet lashes. "Please, stop. If not for him, for me. I... I can't hear anymore." She rubs at her forehead. Obi-Wan lets out a ragged sigh, running his hand through his sweaty blond hair. Padme shakes her head a bit. "What are we gonna-ah!" She doubles over a bit.

"Padme?" Anakin reaches out and touches her cheek. "Padme, what's wrong?"

Padme feels a stab of pain in her gut, then a great deal of wetness between her thighs and on her feet, that she's sitting on. First, she thought she peed herself, then that her water broke, but the stench of iron hits her nose and she reaches down to touch the wetness to see the dark red sheen on her fingers. Padme gasps in fear, then pain and doubles over as the stabs in her gut become stronger, and moves upward. She coughs and blood splatters on Anakin's face, making him jerk in surprise.

"Padme!" Anakin grabs onto her and lifts her into his arms, quickly standing. "Doctor," he says, eyes wide and wild. "Doctor," he says again, like it's the only word in his vocabulary. Obi-Wan is on his feet, moving toward Padme's ship when Padme coughs wetly, sending more speckles of blood flying.

They start running for the ramp when the two men stop, feeling a looming darkness lovingly caressing at the edge of their senses. Both turn very slowly, able to see the facility in the distance, but a dark, short shadow just a few yards away from them, hunched over in a black cloak. His steps are slow with age, but somehow he appears like a predator stalking it's prey.

"Anakin, my boy," the figure says. "Padme is weak. She is losing the baby, just as you feared. I can show you how to save her, but you are quickly running out of time. She will die soon, if you do not hurry."

"Anakin," Obi-Wan grabs at his arm. "We must go now! He cannot save her. He is evil, Anakin. He will let her die!"

"Nonsense," Palpatine says, voice holding a lilt of pain. "All I have ever done is try and guide you, Anakin. I have always been looking out for you, since you were just a little boy, Anakin. Never have I set you astray."

"The Jedi..." Anakin says softly, looking pained. A small ship hovers overhead, above Padme's. Obi-Wan and Anakin spare it a look but return their attention back to the threat slowly making his way closer.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan pleads. "Please don't do this again! Padme needs to get away from him! He will kill her. Do you understand that?"

"The Jedi were destroying the balance," Palpatine says softly, as if mournfully. "They refuse to act. They sit around twiddling their thumbs thinking that the old ways are the only ways. They refuse to see outside of their neat little box. They allow a bloated beast like the Republic continue to reign when it is filled to the brim with greed and vileness more incorrigible than even I can truly imagine. It had to be stopped. It simply cannot be ruled the way it wishes it could. That is why it keeps failing."

"Right, you may be." Yoda steps up next to them, looking old and tired and sad. "See the Jedi of now and find my masters of old. Hundreds of years between the two, yet they remain the same. My fault, this all is." Yoda closes his eyes and leans heavily on his cane. He looks like he's nearly tripled in age since last either two men saw him.

"Master..." Obi-Wan says softly.

Yoda looks up at Anakin and there is no malice or hatred, just sadness. "Failed you, young Skywalker, I have. No, we, of the Order, have." He shakes his head slowly. "Fix it, I will." Padme coughs weakly, staring, half dazed, down at Yoda. "Senator Amidala," Yoda says, "failed you as well, I have. Didn't see you for what you were until it was too late, I was."

"What does that mean?" Anakin asks. "What are you saying, Master Yoda?"

"Up to you, it is, Obi-Wan, Anakin, to save us all. Write our wrongs, you must," Yoda says cryptically, narrowing his eyes up at the two men. "Darkness is coming. Be ready for it, we must, less we all perish."

"Master-" Obi-Wan starts before Palpatine cuts him off.

"Cleaver, Master Yoda," Palpatine sounds pleased by something. "Even you know this cannot be stopped, yet you grasp at straws. I am the only one who can do this."

Yoda sends Palpatine the flattest, most chilling stare any of the two men had ever seen, especially from the old green Master. "Chosen One, you are not."

 

Padme jerks. One moment she is in unbelievably pain, wanting to punch Anakin and Ob-Wan in the face for stopping to have a chat with him when she so obviously needed a doctor, but simply lost the strength to move. The next moment, she is staring into Obi-Wan's eyes, seeing him stare back at her as if equally perplexed as to how they got there.

Padme's eyes turn to Anakin next to her, surprised by what she sees. Anakin stares back at her, but his hair is chopped short and pulled back into a small ponytail with his padawan braid over his shoulder. He stares back at her, eyes wide, and studying her just as she is with him. They were both younger. She was definitely no longer pregnant. He must still be a padawan because not only does he still have his braid, but his right hand as well.

Then the two of them look over at Obi-Wan, who's lined face is smoother, his hair longer and his stance looser, not pained by injuries he sustained from his time in the war. Even Anakin's posture is more introverted than his regular stance. He must have felt the oddity of it for it because his stance becomes assured. The three of them spare a few awkward moments, staring at one another, not knowing what to say, or who should even speak first.

It wasn't just her. The two of them saw the same thing that she did. She could see it in their eyes. They were just as perplexed by it as she was. Master Yoda must have done something, but she was so delirious with pain and blood loss that she didn't understand much of what happened there at the end. Unfortunately, judging by Obi-Wan's furrowed brows and Anakin's darting eyes, neither of them must know what is going on too.

Anakin opens his mouth, but Padme beats him to it. "Everyone, leave," she catches Dorme shift in her peripheral. "I need to speak with the Jedi alone, please."

JarJar, Dorme and Padme's guards all exit the room different ways. She gives it a couple of seconds before she launches herself into Anakin's arms. Anakin wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly to him. She couldn't bring herself to care about what happened before this, she just needed to feel him in her arms, even if for just a moment.

"What is going on?" Padme asks. "You saw that too, right?"

"Yes," Anakin says softly. "I... I saw it all."

"As did I," Obi-Wan says, flatly.

Padme pulls back, embarrassed. She looks at Obi-Wan, expecting his disapproving eyes on them and their display of affection, but he was staring beyond them, probably through the Force, before suddenly looking exhausted.

"What was that?" Anakin asks softly, his question directed toward the oldest of them. His posture is slightly timid, as if worried that Obi-Wan will start beating on him at the slightest provocation.

But Obi-Wan doesn't move, seemingly too focused on trying to sift through whatever mental files he's got lined up in his head, before he looks over at them, tired. "I honestly don't know."


	2. Start

They stood in silence for a moment, just looking around the room, taking this time to really think about what just happened. All three of them wrapped up in their thoughts.

"Was that the Force?" Padme asks, figuring she sounded naïve, but she didn't know how else to explain it. She's obviously never been through anything like this before, the only thing she can do is ask those that know more about it than she what they think. She was no expert on the Force, she knew a bit about it, but would never say she's an expert. She had no idea if such a thing was possible, but she wasn't the one to answer that on her own.

Obi-Wan rubs his forehead for a moment, trying to organize his thoughts. He looks around the room again, blue eyes narrowed and keen. Padme knows this room. She's seen it a million times, and knows that Obi-Wan has been there a handful of times, but he's looking at it as if he's never been there before. Or, perhaps, he's seeing something else that he doesn't recognize, Padme doesn't know.

"I don't know," Obi-Wan says again, finally turning his eyes toward Padme. "We must go speak with Master Yoda."

Padme nods in agreement. "Okay."

They head for the elevator when Padme realized that it was just her and Obi-Wan. She stops and turns around to see Anakin still just standing where he was a minute before. He didn't even turn around to follow them. He's completely frozen in place. Obi-Wan looks back at them as Padme walks over to Anakin.

"Ani? What's wrong?" She walks around him and places her hand on his arm. His face is scrunched up and his eyes are squeezed closed. "Anakin? Come on. We have to go see Master Yoda. He's the only one who can explain to us what just happened."

"I can't go," Anakin says, shaking his head.

"Master Yoda knows what you did," Padme insists. "He still... well, did whatever he did to get us here. He will forgive you. But you have to speak with him." She didn't know how to explain what happened to them. Were they somehow sent into the past? Or were they shown the future? Because that is a major difference. If they were sent back in time, their actions are their own, but if they weren't show the future, then it's a possibility that can be changed.

Anakin opens his eyes, staring down at her with a completely tortured look in them. And it's in that moment that Padme realized what was holding him back. It wasn't a fear of Master Yoda, or what he might have to say about everything that he's done, but it was the Temple itself. He doesn't want to go to the Temple. No, he can't go. The last time he was there, he slaughtered children. He can't go back there. She can see it in his eyes. He's not ready to go back just yet. He's not ready to face that place.

Until they find out one way or another what it is that they saw, it's going to torture Anakin. No, either way he's going to have to live with that. Either he was driven to the edge and killed younglings and people that he knew and loved for power, or that vileness is just something that lives inside of him, able to be released at any time so long as the circumstances are met. Padme is no psychologist, but she can already see Anakin being unable to move past this. He shouldn't be able to just forget about it, that does all of his - maybe? - misdeeds and even acts of cruelty a free pass they don't deserve, but Padme just can't bring herself to see him in so much pain.

If they are somehow in the past, then Anakin is going to have to learn how to deal with what he did. Padme knows this. He can't simply forget about it, but he can't let it destroy him. The galaxy needs him, and while he may never be able to forgive himself if he really did do it, he's going to have to find a way to live with himself. He, unfortunately, doesn't have a choice in the matter.

"Maybe I should stay here with him," Padme says, turning slowly to look at Obi-Wan, who's frowning deeply.

"No," Obi-Wan says flatly. "You are going to stay with me. I don't want there to be any funny business behind my back until we get this figured out." He crosses his arms over his chest. Whatever 'funny business' was, Padme doubted any of it would be happening. Not after what they just went through.

Anakin flinches and Padme frowns at his words.

"I can be trusted," Padme says indignant, crossing her arms over her chest.

Obi-Wan stares at her. "It's not you I don't trust," he says. Anakin flinches again.

"Anakin shouldn't be left alone right now," Padme insists. "It's because he was left alone so much that Palpatine was able to get inside his head. He's still delicate right now. Please, Obi-Wan, I promise, we will stay right here until you get back."

Obi-Wan hesitates, looking at Anakin's back, which is hunched over, shoulders bowed inward. Anakin wasn't loud and boisterous. He was quiet and subdued. It was like he was afraid to release too much of his feelings into the Force, which was odd for Anakin, who usually couldn't control it. It was like he was trying to disappear into the Force completely. Never to be distinguished from it again. He hasn't even turned to face Obi-Wan again. His shame is painfully obvious, hovering over him like a dark cloud.

Obi-Wan stares at his back, burning through the younger boy with his eyes. He's mad, so mad, and confused. He doesn't know what else to really do other than just be angry. But he is not angry enough that he cannot see reason. Padme was on their side, and he sense her honestly and desperate need to keep Anakin on the straight and narrow. Well, as much as she can in the situation she helped get him into. She won't leave him alone. She will keep him on a tight leash for the time being.

She can be trusted.

"Fine," Obi-Wan says. "I will be back soon. Anakin," his eyes flicker over to the hunched over back of his one-time Padawan. The boy flinches again under Obi-Wan's steely gaze. "Anakin, are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Master," Anakin says softly, drooping head more.

"Stay here, I mean it. I am not playing. I will be back." Obi-Wan waits for his submissive nod, slightly disturbed by his timid, frightened attitude that is so much unlike his one-time Padawan, before sending a look toward Padme. "Call me if you need me."

Padme nods. "We will be alright. Hurry back."

Obi-Wan casts one more look toward Anakin before he makes his way toward the elevator, anxious about leaving Anakin alone right now, but not sure he will be able to proceed with a clear head unless he gets a bit of time to himself to straighten out his emotions. He doesn't like the brashness that still washes over him. He still feels like a Padawan himself in that regard. Anakin has always needed a delicate hand when being dealt with. Sometimes Obi-Wan feared that he babied Anakin too much, other times, he worried he was too harsh.

Obi-Wan just didn't know anymore. He was in over his head when he first became Anakin's Master. He was young and overwhelmed and knew that it wasn't going to be an easy task, but he knew that he had to grow up quick because Anakin was going to need him to be an adult. Obi-Wan wasn't the average person that had a normal childhood, but he felt he had to grow up quickly so that he could be the best he could be for Anakin's sake.

Obi-Wan sacrificed so much for Anakin, and for what? Anakin destroyed everything that he held dear, and loved. Anakin destroyed everything. Everything would have been so much better had Anakin never been part of the picture.

No, he couldn't think like that. While it may be true that Anakin did it, destroyed everything that Obi-Wan loved, he had to admit that it wasn't always bad. As he traveled down the elevator, his mind is filled with moments of happy times. The only influential man in Anakin's life before Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was Watto, and that was a poor example at best. Anakin had no idea how to be around Obi-Wan. He was often timid and quiet, watching Obi-Wan desperately to find some sort of connection between them.

All Anakin's life he's only really had his mother. And Obi-Wan was nothing like Shmi Skywalker. He was sterner, more callous, but also twisted by his own personality and view of the galaxy. Obi-Wan had been told many times before, by many people, that he had a sick sense of humor, especially in desperate situations. It was just part of who he was, perhaps his way of coping with the constant need to be perfect in front of the public, as a Jedi. Obi-Wan didn't know. But what he did know was that he shouldn't be like that with Anakin.

Anakin was a child that needed to learn about their way od life and adjust to the loss of the life he lived. He was older than Obi-Wan and was attached to his mother, it wasn't as simple as just leaving. Anakin would stay up late into the night, looking out over the expanse of the stars, trying to find Tatooine in their twinkling, with some strange idea of able to see her from where he was, but Anakin was a child. He had never left home. His longing for his mother could be understood by Obi-Wan, even if Obi-Wan himself had never met his mother. Or at least, remembered her.

Obi-Wan had to grow out of his childish actions almost immediately, being painfully aware of the large, innocent eyes of nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker on him. It was hard, very hard, at first. Obi-Wan didn't know how to be in charge of a padawan, especially since he was freshly out of that phase of his life himself. So their beginning was rough. Anakin was testing lifestyle out and Obi-Wan was very stringent on following the rules and being obeyed. He knew he knew better than Anakin, but he hadn't established that with Anakin just yet.

They butted heads a lot, even years later, but they managed to find their flow. Managed to somehow make their strange relationship work. They were Master and Padawan, but they were also best friends, and soon, even brothers. Anakin said that Obi-Wan was the closest thing he had to a father, which Obi-Wan could understand, but their relationship outside of Obi-Wan telling Anakin what to do, was very much brotherly.

They were very close, Anakin and Obi-Wan. Through all of their fights and arguing, at the very end of the day and in all of the moments that count, they always had the back of the other. They always knew what the other was thinking and at one point, Obi-Wan would have said that they really could have been brothers. For all of the shit going on in the war and everything else in their lives, overall, with one another, they were happy. Or as close to it as they could be.

A faint, forlorn, smile crosses his face for a split second before he sends it away. He can't think about those moments, not now, not when he has to deal with everything with a steady hand and a steely heart. He can reminisce in sadness later. Now, he has to get to the bottom of what has happened.

The elevator dings as it reaches the bottom floor and Obi-Wan moves quickly from it, cloak billowing behind as he rushes to the entrance of the Senate building and onto the streets, locating the Temple immediately and heading that way. Obi-Wan makes it there in record time, rushing up toward the elevator and anxiously waits for the long ride up to the top level of the Temple. Anakin and Obi-Wan just left the meeting for this mission not an hour prior, they should still be in session. It's late into the night and the Temple is quieting down, with few roaming the halls, but the Council meetings tended to go later into the night.

Once the door opens, Obi-Wan slows his fast, anxious pace down the hall, casting a half glance toward the Temple Guards standing rigidly against the walls, armed with their sabers in their hands, unlit, keeping careful vigilance over the hall leading to the Masters. It's a good indicator that the Masters were still in there that all the guards were present.

He stops outside the door, having to remind himself that he is a Knight at the moment and not a Master, especially one of the Council. He couldn't just go barging in there like he could as a Council Master. He had to wait to be welcomed.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, here to speak with the Masters," Obi-Wan says to the guards stationed on either side of the door.

"The Masters are not seeing anyone at the moment," the guard on the right says. "You will have to come back at another time, Knight Kenobi."

"I understand," Obi-Wan says, crossing his hands neatly in front of him to try and stop them from anxiously twitching, "but it is important. I must speak with Master Yoda, immediately."

"Master Yoda-" the second guard starts but is silenced by the gaze sent to him by the other.

"One moment," the first guard says, turning, opening the door and disappearing inside. Obi-Wan narrows his eyes in confusion, a terrible feeling settling in the pit of his gut. Something is going on with Master Yoda? He's got a very bad feeling about this.

The other guard avoids Obi-Wan's curious gaze, probably feeling bad for speaking out of turn. Obi-Wan quietly waits until the door opens and the guard steps out, with Knight Secura right behind him.

"Knight Kenobi," Secura says, closing the door behind her.

"Knight Secura," Obi-Wan says, surprised to see the pretty blue Twi'lek. "Is something wrong? I was here to speak with Master Yoda."

Secura steps away from the door a bit to give the guards some room. "Master Yoda is currently indisposed right now," Secura says, waving for him to follow her down the hall. The horrible feeling in his stomach gets stronger.

"What's wrong?" Obi-Wan asks frankly. "Don't dance around the issue. Is Master Yoda alright?"

Secura pauses, contemplating something, before she turns to Obi-Wan, worry etching onto her pretty face. "Shortly after your mission briefing with Padawan Skywalker," Secura says slowly, "Master Yoda got distracted by something through the Force. He stood up abruptly, saying he had to go rest, he wasn't feeling well, but then he just collapsed. He was taken to the healers but they don't know what's wrong. He's entered into a deep meditative trance that they can't seem to pull him from."

"What?" Obi-Wan's eyebrows pull together tightly. "And how is he now?"

"Still in the trance," Secura says. Right, she literally just said that. "But the Masters don't want to alarm anyone. I'm going to go stand guard over him while he sleeps, but the Masters have to discuss what they are going to do while he is unable to perform his duties. They need a stand-in Grand Master to make decisions in his absence. Especially if this is prelude to something bad coming." Knight Secura wrings her hands in front of her stomach, looking worried. "I received permission from the Council to tell you, Obi-Wan, but that is why they cannot speak with you now."

Normally, Obi-Wan would be confused as to why they would share such delicate information with him of all people, but he already knew the truth. He was being considered for promotion to be a Master, and had been for a while. Not only that, but they were looking at him as a possible Council Master as well. Everything he became privy to, was them testing to see if he was prepared for the responsibility of being both on the Council, and a Master.

"I... see," Obi-Wan says slowly. "Then, I will leave it for now. Please, watch over Master Yoda diligently, Aayla."

Secura looks deeply worried. "Thank you, Obi-Wan. I will. May the Force be with you."

"And you as well."

Numbly, Obi-Wan heads back to the Senate building, unable to believe this turn of events. Worried about the old, green Master, and what the future may hold. As much as he wants to stand around, or even go to see Yoda himself, he knew he had to get back to Anakin and Padme, lest this already horrible start to their mission gets worse.

 

Padme finally coxes Anakin to sit down on the couch and grabs him a glass of water before sitting next to him. He holds it in his hand, not seeing anything, as if mind is lost to his thoughts. After a few minutes of him ignoring the cup of water, Padme pulls it gently from his fingers and places it on the table in front of them before watching him again.

After five minutes of straight silence, Padme finally says, softly, "Anakin, please talk to me."

"What have I done?" Anakin murmurs, eyes miles away and lost. "I thought that I was protecting you. I thought that nothing else mattered so long as you would be alright. So long as I could be strong enough to save you, I wouldn't mind whatever had to be done. I would somehow be able to live with it. Whatever had to be done, had to be done. What..." he shakes his head, eyebrows pulled together tightly. "What is happening to me?"

"I don't know," Padme admits, "but you aren't alone, Ani. I'm here. Please don't go to him anymore. Don't listen to anything he says anymore. Please, Anakin. I don't want to lose you." Padme feels the tears sliding down her cheeks. She takes a few shuttering breaths that seem to pull Anakin from his thoughts, his beautiful but terribly sad steel blue eyes land on her. He reaches out and pulls her into his arms, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"I'm sorry, Padme. I am so sorry. I don't know how, but I will make this up to you. I promise. I will make everything better. I won't go to him. I won't speak to him. I won't fall for his words, please, please don't leave me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Anakin says quickly, his entire body shaking from the force of his emotions. He's honestly terrified. He's scared that she is going to leave him. That he won't be able to somehow make this better.

Padme's not sure how she feels about all of this. On one hand, she knows that the truth of just how far Anakin is willing to go for her might just be enough to destroy him - again. Deep in the recesses of her mind, Padme is terrified by that knowledge. There is a bit of romanticism in knowing that her husband would do anything for her, is a good feeling, but realizing just how far - meaning betraying the Republic, the Jedi and even her, is a lot to take in. It's obvious that Anakin is upset by all of this, but the dark little voice in the back of her mind, can't help but note that while he does seem upset by what happened; his biggest fear of all is her leaving him.

His connection to the Jedi, the Republic and even the Light Side of the Force is literally hanging by threads. There has got to be more to anchor him to the Light. Even if he decides to somehow leave the Jedi Order, Padme is going to have to be a lot more careful about how she goes about... everything.

But is that the way that she wants to live her life?

No, Padme loves Anakin. She loves him so much. She just has to come to terms with another side of her husband and maybe it won't be so bad. Anakin has always been real anxious and wound up tight, maybe if he stays away from Palpatine, they will be able settle his frayed nerves. Maybe the distance will do him good. Anakin was always telling her that the Dark Side had settled over Coruscant because of the presence of the Dark Lord that they couldn't locate. If they stop Palpatine, maybe Anakin will be able to find himself better.

Is she willing to blindly believe that all of the terrible things that Anakin did was solely because of the Dark Side and Dark Lord, with no other outside influence? Is she willing to close her eyes and pretend that there is a strong chance that the core of these behaviors might be Anakin? She doesn't know. She's going to have to keep a close eye on him as well, and pray.

Padme wipes her face of her drying tears and looks up at Anakin, seeing the horror deep in them. Maybe it's smart that not only he avoids the Temple for a while, but the Masters too. If Padme can see the horror in his eyes, the Masters could probably sense it like a tidal wave coming out of him. Yes, he should probably stay by her side for a while.

Padme reaches up and caresses Anakin's smooth, young face, wondering if he ever looked this young. It was only a few short years ago that he looked like this, but he looks like he's been through hell and without his scar over his right eye, he looks so young. Only his eyes are old and wise, having seen the worst this galaxy has to offer for a hundred lifetimes. He's so young, yet his eyes show the horror of hundreds of years.

"Obi-Wan hates me," Anakin says softly, looking tired and lost.

"No, he doesn't," Padme says immediately, then wonders if that's true. She couldn't feel the Force, but she was adept at reading people. She has spent her entire life learning to read people, and just simply watching them as Queen and Senator, so she didn't need the Force to tell her that Obi-Wan was in pain. A lot of pain, and probably more than Anakin. She knew that Obi-Wan was a good, kind man with a gentle heart, but this is probably the worst form of betrayal. Obi-Wan deeply loves - loved - Anakin and this betrayal hit him hard.

She can't blame Obi-Wan for being mad. She just hopes that they will be able to figure this out. All of them. She knows that the two of them are going to have to figure this out together, but she just hopes this doesn't destroy them. Anakin and Obi-Wan haven't been getting along with one another for a while now. She's afraid that this is going to ruin them completely.

Anakin stares at her, knowing that she spoke without thinking.

"He's mad," Padme amends. She runs her thumbs up and down his cheeks, caressing them lovingly. "And he's hurt, Ani. Can you blame him? Your choices don't just affect you."

Anakin's long lashes lower to his high cheek bones. "I don't know what I was thinking..."

"I know," Padme says softly. "And I might be just gullible enough to believe you, but Anakin, Obi-Wan is in pain. Real pain. Everything he knew and loved was ripped away in a single instance, and now it's back. He's going to have whip lash for a while. I think we all are. But things won't easily go back to the way they were. We are all going to have to adjust."

Anakin nods slowly. "I don't know how to do that," he admits after a few minutes of silence. He closes his eyes for a moment before looking over at Padme again. "I don't know how to adjust."

Padme smiles faintly at him. It's thin and meek without any sort of mirth. "We are all going to have to figure it out, Ani. I don't have the answers. But we can do it if we are all together." She gives him a level stare. "But, Ani, you know that it's not going to be an easy road ahead of us. We have to do this together. You, me, Obi-Wan and Master Yoda."

"I know." Anakin reaches up and scratches at the back of his neck. He lets out a deep, long winded sigh, running his hands up and down his face. "I don't know how to face them. It's like, I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. Is... Is that truly the power of the Dark Side?" Anakin asks softly, looking lost. "Or, was that who I really am as a person?"

"Anakin," Padme cuts in, not wanting to think about how she was wondering very much the same thing not so long ago, "I can honestly say that I know little to nothing about the Dark Side, but I do know you. You're confused and hurt and Palpatine was in your head. You have to stay away from him and his influence. I can't say how all of this is going to play out, but I know that we are all going to have to work together. We can't let Palpatine get away with this. Master Yoda must know something, right?"

Anakin shakes his head slowly. "I honestly don't know anymore. I feel very... disconnected."

"From the Jedi?" Padme asks.

Anakin shrugs his shoulders. "Yes, but the Force too. Something feels wrong."

Padme's eyebrows pull together tightly in confusion. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Anakin roughly rubs at his forehead, trying to piece the words together, but it doesn't appear to come easily. He lets out a low sigh of defeat, shaking his head once more. "I don't know. I don't know how to explain it. Everything feels off to me. Wrong, somehow."

"Is it because of whatever Master Yoda did to get us here?" Padme asks, placing a hand on his arm.

Anakin stares deep into her eyes, looking tired, afraid and lost. "I just don't know."

"Well, that makes two of us."

Padme and Anakin turn to see Obi-Wan standing in the doorway to the living room, watching them with his arms crossed over his chest and a hard look on his face. Anakin bows his head in submission, or perhaps he's just not ready to meet Obi-Wan's eyes just yet.

"You're back quicker than I expected," Padme admits. "What did Master Yoda say?"

"Nothing," Obi-Wan says simply. "He appears to be in a coma at the moment." His attitude was so flippant when he said that, Padme didn't catch the real urgency in his words until she took a moment to analyze them.

"What?" She gasps, half a second behind Anakin's.

"He's in a meditative trance they can't seem to coax him out of," Obi-Wan says, walking over to the couch opposite of theirs and falls back into it. Obi-Wan looks physically exhausted. He melts into the couch, shoulders slumping and eyes sliding closed. "Now is when you guess that it happened."

"After we returned," Anakin says, eyebrows pulling together tightly.

Obi-Wan points at him, lazily, before rubbing his face. "Correct."

Padme feels her heart plummet into her feet. She looks between Anakin and Obi-Wan, both appearing to be exhausted now. "What do we do? Without Master Yoda to tell us what he did, are we just going to... let this play out?"

"No!" Anakin and Obi-Wan say at once, lurching forward to pin her down with their eyes.

Padme frowns. "No, I meant the attempt on my life, finding the clones and stopping Dooku. I don't want this war to happen. Any of it." She crosses her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed.

"No one is going to hurt you," Anakin says, his voice flat. "I'm not going to allow it."

"You can't stop someone from wanting my life," Padme says, looking up into Anakin's intense steel blue eyes. "But I know you will protect me." Padme reaches out and caresses his cheek, carefully. "But you can't lose control of yourself, Ani. I will be fine. I always have been."

Anakin's anger simmers down and a flash of shame crosses his eyes, but he looks away. "I know that," he says, quietly.

Obi-Wan rubs roughly at his forehead, letting out a long winded sigh. "We can't do much other than follow the flow. Master Yoda is the only one who could probably explain what happened."

Padme and Anakin both nod in agreement.

"But," Anakin says slowly, blinking rapidly when Obi-Wan icy blue eyes turn toward him. He closes his eyes for a moment before opening them and continuing, "But is there really a point in doing this dance? We already know everything. Jango Fett is behind the assassination attempts, even the one tonight. He lives on Kamino with his clone son and the Kaminoians are making an army for the Republic-"

"-The Dark Lord-" Obi-Wan bitterly supplies.

Anakin blinks slowly before continuing, "But most of all, we know who the Dark Lord is, and his ultimate plan."

"Yes," Obi-Wan says smoothly, staring at them through half-lidded blue eyes, "he is going to orchestrate this entire war, working both sides like a chess game." Obi-Wan frowns deeply, glaring out the window behind Anakin's head. He blinks again, face smoothing out as a thought comes to him. "Then again..." Obi-Wan says slowly.

"So do we," Anakin and Obi-Wan say together, eyes locking for the first time since they were brought back in time - or whatever it was that Yoda did to them.

Padme wasn't sure this was the most solid foundation to rebuild their relationship on, but it was a start that she was willing to accept.


	3. New verse, Same as the First

Padme runs her fingers through her hair, feeling her long, thin digits catch on just about every knot that has found it's way into her curly locks. Padme looks down at her vanity, all of her different jewelry; necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings, her hair brush and comb along with hair spray and al sorts of small headdresses that she pulled out to choose between for the meetings she was adamant that she was going to go to the next day, even though her life was in danger.

There is a light knock at her door that pulls her attention away from surveying the items on the vanity. "Come in!" She calls, already knowing who it was. She hears the door open and close and a few moments later, Anakin's warm fingers settle on her collar bone, lightly drumming against the protrusion.

"You're so beautiful," Anakin says softly.

Padme smiles faintly, reaching up with her hands and cover his fingers with her own. "Thank you, Ani."

He starts to massage her shoulders a bit, working the tense muscles with calloused, strong fingers. In the mirror, she looks at his tanned phalanges moving across her lighter skin, seeing all ten digits. It's been so long since Anakin has touched her with both of his real hands since he lost his right one. He must have noticed that too because it's primarily his right hand that's doing most of the moving, like he's trying to remember what it's like to feel with that hand.

"Did you and Obi-Wan speak at all after I left?" Padme asks, using her long, manicured nails rub at the back of his hands. Anakin, who is just tall enough that she can't see his face in the reflection of her large mirror, lets out a long, slow sigh, lowering his head to kiss her forehead.

"No," he says. "I couldn't stand the silence any longer, so I got up and came in here. I think he's still laying on the couch."

Padme sighs, wishing that they would have spoken, but maybe it's better that they leave a bit of distance between them for now to try and get over their hurt feelings. Er, Obi-Wan's hurt feelings. Anakin has much to apologize for, but Obi-Wan has got to be willing to listen. Right now, the craziness of the situation is enough to draw their attention but it won't be like that forever. At some point they are going to reach a boiling point and Padme is a bit afraid that they are going to come to blows at that moment, but maybe that's what they need in order to start healing.

Or, at least, she hopes so. She hopes they don't have to fight in order to start healing, but she would be naïve to believe that they would just get over what happened like it didn't.

Padme pulls her hands away from Anakin's and runs it over her nightgown, the smooth, silk fabric sliding under her fingers. She runs her digits over her toned, flat stomach and this horrible feeling presses down heavily on her chest. It hits her so suddenly that tears spring up in her eyes. A sob rips from her, without her control, and she brings her hands up to cover her mouth.

"Padme?" Anakin asks, pulling her long hair away from her face. "Padme, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" Padme shakes her head slowly, tears sliding down her face. "Scared?" He asks softly. She shakes her head.

"Our baby," she moans. "I never got to hold our baby." She lowers her hands to her stomach and rubs it. In her memory she can feel the bulging belly and feel the life inside of her moving around. Lives, she recalls. She was notified that they were going to have twins. She never got to tell Anakin. He only thought it was one baby. "Babies, I mean. We were going to have two."

Anakin doesn't say anything and his fingers still for a moment before pulling away from her. "Two?" he asks softly.

Padme nods, not able to bring herself to say more. Anakin reaches forward and grabs her hand, tugging on it a bit until she turns around on her bench and he pulls her up into his arms, hugging her so tightly it hurt. But she didn't care that he was squeezing her so hard it was difficult to breath. She wraps her arms around his waist and buries her face in his chest to cry.

"I never got to hold them," Padme sobs, shaking hard. "I want to hold them. Why can't they be here?"

Anakin's breathing is ragged and shallow. Padme pauses in crying, just listening to her husband's quiet breathing. He's trying not to draw attention to his crying. He wanted to hold their child too, and now learning that he won't get to hold either of them, is a deep pain for both of them. He wouldn't allow her to pull away from him so that she could see his face, but she felt a tear land on her cheek that wasn't her own. So Padme and Anakin cry quietly, holding tightly onto one another until all that they can hear is each other breathing. Padme still shutters and shakes a bit in her grief, but Anakin has since quieted.

They stand there in silence, leaning heavily against one another, just feeling the heat of the other person's body. Padme looks out the window to see that it's starting to get dark out. Before Obi-Wan and Anakin have to run off to chase down her assassin, they should talk about their next moves. She wants to stand around and continue grieving the children she will never meet, but knows that she's all cried out for now. Between Mustafar and now, she's exhausted and there isn't a drop of water left in her body.

"Can you grab my robe for me, Ani?" Padme asks softly. "We need to speak with Obi-Wan about what we are going to do now."

"Yeah," Anakin says, but he doesn't pull back right away. His grip on her has loosened up into a gentle, protective circle around her. She's not mad. She doesn't want to pull away from him just yet either.

Neither move for a solid minute.

"Anakin?"

"Padme?"

"I love you."

Anakin doesn't respond, his entire body freezes before he squeezes his arms around her tightly, kissing her forehead a few times. Harder and harder, then he pulls away. Padme watches as he walks over to her bed and grabs her long, silky robe and walks over to her, running his fingers over the smooth material, not looking at her.

He helps her put it on and as he's pulling it up onto her shoulder, he leans down, whispering so softly into her ear, "I love you so much."

Padme pulls away from his tough and turns around to kiss him softly on the lips. She can feel the strangeness between them, and she knows he does too, but they can't focus on that now. They have to just focus on what they can deal with. They love each other, deeply, and that won't change, but they are going to have to come to terms with the shift in their relationship too.

But not now. Now they have to focus on things a lot bigger than them.

He kisses her one more time before pulling away and heading for the door. Padme follows after him, tying her robe closed and following him out of the room and back toward the living room. Obi-Wan isn't on the couch, but standing on the balcony outside, just standing there with his hands behind his back, watching the speeders race by and the lights of the signs flicker and shine in the growing darkness.

"Obi-Wan?" Padme calls out.

The older man turns to look at them over his shoulder, his brow creased deeply, as if he was lost in thought about something that he wasn't happy about it. Unfortunately, that could be any number of things at this point. Padme walks over to the couch, lowering down to it while Anakin sits down beside her. Obi-Wan walks toward them, closing the sliding door firmly and walking over to the other couch and sitting. He leans forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands dangling between his legs.

"Are we ready to talk?" Obi-Wan asks, looking exhausted. He looks exactly as she feels. In fact, they all do.

"Yes," Padme says. "What is the plan? Ultimately we have to get to Geonosis, and until Master Yoda wakes up and helps us figure out what it is that he did to bring us here, how are we going to go about getting there?"

Obi-Wan lets out a slow sigh. "Well, regardless of the little things. I know where Kamino is now and will be able to simply go there and speak with the cloners ahead of schedule, and let the Masters know about the Clones, which gets that out of the way, and from there, I can allow Jango to escape and follow him to Geonosis, as planned."

"Then," Padme says, "instead of going to Naboo, Anakin and I will go straight to Tatooine to wait for your message."

Obi-Wan stares at her while Anakin raises an eyebrow. "Why would we just go-" Anakin stops, blinking rapidly in confusion. "My mother!" His entire face lights up in hope. "She's alive!"

Padme smiles. "That's what I was thinking."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows pull together in worry. "I don't believe that's such a good idea..."

"What?" Anakin snaps, finally turning his eyes toward Obi-Wan. "This is my mother we are talking about! I have to go and help her! I failed her before, I can't do it again! I have to go."

Obi-Wan glares at him. "Yes? And just how many Sand People are you going to kill this time around?" Obi-Wan looks shocked by his own words, like he hadn't meant to say it aloud. He steels himself, though, not talking it back.

Anakin must not have expected that, because he chokes on whatever he was going to say next. His jaw snaps closed and he stares at Obi-Wan in shock, confusion and hurt. "What?" He mumbles out, lips barely moving.

"You thought I didn't know?" Obi-Wan asks, raising his eyebrows. "Anakin, I could feel the stain of death on you and when I realized you were Tatooine, coupled with what I knew about your vision, it wasn't hard to figure out." Obi-Wan starts shaking his head. "That, and Master Yoda approached me while you were in the hospital to speak to me about it. You hadn't fallen to the Dark Side, but he was worried about how close you were, Anakin."

Anakin's metaphorical shackles lay flat as he wilts like a flower under a hail storm. "I..." he closes his eyes for a moment, trying to decide what to say to defend himself. "I..." he shakes his head and opens his eyes. "I have to save her, Obi-Wan. She's my mother." He's pleading and desperate.

Obi-Wan looks angry, betrayed. "I know," he says flatly. He closes his eyes, like all of this anger is wearing him down even more. "What do you think I'm going to say, Anakin? You can't go and save your mother from torture and death? Do you think I am so heartless?"

Anakin blinks rapidly, shaking his head. "I have to save her." Padme flinches at that. He couldn't have just said, "No, Master. I don't think you are the heartless monster that Palpatine made me believe that you were!" But instead he avoided the question.

Obi-Wan sighs, looking away for a moment to cover the flash of hurt in his eyes. "I know, and I can't exactly stop you, can I?" He rubs roughly at his face. "Anakin, I can't just let you go to Tatooine knowing that you are not only going to ignore the Code by seeing your mother, but downright break it, when you commit such a heinous crime against the Raiders. Whether they deserve it or not, is not for you to decide!"

Anakin clenches his jaw. "I-"

"Do you want to fall to the Dark Side, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asks, glaring at the younger man in front of him.

Anakin blinks in surprise. His shoulder droop a bit and he shakes his head. "No. I don't."

"Then listen to me, for once in your life," Obi-Wan snaps. "If you go there and do what you did before, then you are just waltzing down the same path and you know how that one ended, right?"

"I do," Anakin says slowly, looking away. "I don't need you patronizing me."

Obi-Wan shakes his head slowly, looking like he begged to differ, but before he could say more, Padme cuts in. "He won't kill the Tusken Raiders. I promise you, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan and Anakin turn to look at her, as if they forgot that she was there, they were so focused on each other.

"How can you promise that?" Obi-Wan asks.

"Because I will go with him to save Shmi," Padme says, her voice even. "I stayed behind as Shmi's husband's house while Anakin went on his own. That will not be the case this time. I will go with him and ensure that there isn't a repeat of what happened the first time." Padme rolls her thin shoulders back and stares into Obi-Wan's eyes. "I don't want anything bad to happen just as much as you do. We need the Clone army to fight the droids to survive the war that we all know is coming. But Anakin is fragile right now, we need to use every avenue we can to help him, and saving the life of Shmi Skywalker is the first step."

"Padme..." Anakin says softly.

"Shmi Skywalker was a nice lady who helped us all those years ago when she didn't have to," Padme says. "She does not deserve this fate, Obi-Wan. She does not deserve to die, scared and alone." Padme pushes long curly hair over her shoulder. "I can't compare what it's like to actually hold your child in your arms and having nine years with them," Padme says softly. Anakin lowers his eyes, clenching both his hands into fists while Obi-Wan blinks, taking a moment to understand what she is saying. When he realizes it, he closes his eyes in shame. "But nine years isn't enough time. For either of them. I know you are mad at Anakin, Obi-Wan, and me, and you have all the right to be, but from a woman who was close to being a mother and can only imagine, please let that nice lady who helped us out when she didn't have to, see the only child she ever brought into this galaxy."

The room is silent. No one says anything for a solid minute, which worked because the door opened up and Dorme comes walking in, her hands filled with paper work that Padme had sent her out to get so that they could talk.

"I believe I got everything that you've asked for, my lady," Dorme says, walking into the room and stopping, feeling the tense atmosphere. All three of them turn to look at Padme's handmaiden with looks of exhaustion and defeat. Dorme's dark eyes flicker between all three of them, her eyebrows pulling together. "Is everything alright? You all look so tired..." She blinks. "Should I make some coffee?"

"Yes, please, Dorme, thank you," Padme says.

Dorme nods. "Then... I will place all of these papers in your office and make some coffee."

"Thank you," Padme says. Anakin nods his thanks, but doesn't open his mouth.

"Yes, thank you," Obi-Wan says. Dorme blushes and turns away quickly, rushing from the room.

Obi-Wan raises and eyebrow and looks over at Padme. "All of my handmaidens have a crush on you," Padme says, offering a tired, thin smile. "Literally all of them."

Obi-Wan blinks really fast for almost an entire minute before rubbing his face roughly. "Putting that aside for now," he says, a tinge of embarrassment in his voice. "If I let the two of you go to Tatooine and Anakin kills all of those Sand People, their lives will be on my hands," Obi-Wan whispers. "Are you honestly asking me to trust that he won't do it this time around?"

"Yes," Padme whispers back, leaning toward him. "Things are going to be different. Please, believe me."

Obi-Wan sighs, rubbing his face again. "I can't believe this." He leans back against the couch, letting out a deep sigh. "Let me think about it." He groans, rubbing his face once more, looking completely worn out.

Dorme comes in, tray in hands with three cups of coffee. "Master Jedi," Dorme looks between Anakin and Obi-Wan, "I wasn't sure how you wanted your coffee. Sugar? Milk?"

"Yes, please," Obi-Wan says. Anakin nods in agreement. Dorme stands back up, passes Padme her own cup, and heads for the kitchen.

"Fine," Obi-Wan says as soon as she's out of ear shot. "I do not trust you," he says, looking right at Anakin. "I do not trust that you will change because I have spent the better part of thirteen years begging for you to, but Padme is right. Shmi Skywalker is a kind, innocent woman who doesn't deserve the hand she was dealt. I will turn a blind eye to you two going to Tatooine."

"You won't regret this," Anakin says, looking lively again. "I'm not going to let you down, Obi-Wan, I promise."

Obi-Wan looks sad, like he wants to believe that. "I doubt that. I'm already regretting it." The anger is gone, now he just looks tired and sad. Very tired, and very sad.

"I'm not going to fall into the clutches of Palpatine," Anakin says. "I'll figure a way around this without all of those terrible things. I can do this. I will make you believe me. Things are going to be different this time. I promise."

Obi-Wan stares at him, looking so unbelievably sad that Anakin's smile fades. "For everyone's sake, Anakin, I hope and pray that you are right."

"Milk and sugar," Dorme says, bouncing into the room with a smile. Obi-Wan forces a small smile and a quiet thanks, but otherwise no one else speaks.

 

Padme lays in bed with her back to the window, looking at Anakin, who's sitting on the floor next to her. The droid can't see that there is someone else in the room or that might ruin the plan. She holds onto his hand and stares into his eyes. It has been a really long series of events for both of them and she can see that he's exhausted, but their night isn't over yet. Padme looks over at R2-D2, who sits in sleep mode on the other side of the room, unmoving. The lights filtering in through the shades glean off of his metal frame.

Padme smiles a bit at the loyal astromech droid, knowing that while he was of assistance to them during the Trade Federation Occupation of Naboo situation, getting them out of the Naboo blockade and helped Anakin finally liberate the planet from the droid army, she never imagined how big of an ally and friend he would become her and her husband. Such a good little droid.

Padme looks away from the slumbering droid to look down at her slumbering... husband? Boyfriend? Lover? Whatever. It doesn't really matter the label. They could be soul mates for all she cares. He was hers and she was his.

Anakin sits with his back up against the wall, his elbows resting on his bent knees, cradling her right hand in his own. His eyes is closed, seemingly oblivious to her staring. He's either meditating, or sleeping, she's not sure, but at least his face has smoothed out a bit. Obi-Wan approved of them not only going to Tatooine, but for Anakin to see, and save, his mother.

She doesn't want to disturb any possible rest he might be getting in these small moments, but she knows that she has to tell him something. Something she thought about in the back of her mind, but didn't give it the proper consideration that it needed. She knows that what she's going to say wont somehow magically make the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan peachy again, but maybe it'll be the right avenue for them to start going down.

A light fills the room for a moment, revealing the deep dark shadows under Anakin's eyes. Padme closes her mouth, realizing that while she wants to help mend everyone's relationships as soon as possible. Right now, Anakin and Obi-Wan need rest. When they left to come into her room, Obi-Wan spoke with her captain, telling him that Anakin would stay with Padme and meditate in her room while he stayed out in the living room to meditate and trusted that her guards would be able to aptly secure the floor without them.

Padme was surprised at first by Obi-Wan just allowing her and Anakin to go off together, but then she remembered why. No matter how mad he was at Anakin, how betrayed, at the very core of his being, Obi-Wan loved Anakin. Loved him and worried for him. As much as he was worried about what was to come and Anakin possibly walking down the same dark road he originally walked, he knew that Anakin needed Padme.

Because since the very beginning, he's known the truth. He knew that Anakin was in love with Padme, deeply and wholly, and how that was against the Code, but he turned a blind eye to it, because while he has a lot of faith and dedication to the Code, he loves Anakin more. All that stuff about him ignoring the Code for his mother, that he seemed to care about before, was a front because he was hurt. He knows that Anakin's care for the Code was frail and more like suggestion rather than a way to live, but he still said that because his real concern was Anakin's fall.

If Anakin breaks the Code to kill the Tusken Raiders again, it doesn't matter what good he does saving his mother if he taints the deed in darkness. He doesn't really care about the Sand People, he's worried about Anakin. Although, unfortunately, he didn't make it seem that way, which is probably what is going to continue to build this wall between them.

Both of them are obviously hurt and not wanting to admit to it just yet, so they keep doing these little jabs and remarks to let go of a bit of their pain, even though they are just hurting themselves and each other more. Padme closes her eyes, hoping that they will be able to reach common, pleasant ground soon. Padme can't always be there to help mend the tension between them when they leave for war - the though makes her want to puke in worry, for both of them - so they are going to have to find a way to settle this bad blood and move forward.

Padme must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knows, Anakin is slowly pulling the covers away from her. She jerks a bit, but his hand on her shoulder stops her from sitting up all the way. She lowers back down slowly, seeing him shaking his head slowly. She nods minutely, slowly scooting her legs out next to him and sliding off the bed, into his arms. She practically throws herself off of him as he goes for his lightsaber, igniting it and casting a stark blue light into the somewhat dark room, and swinging it around.

The door kicks open, casting the light from the hall into the room. Padme looks up at Obi-Wan standing in the doorway, looking annoyed and done.

"New verse, same as the first," Obi-Wan groans before running and throwing himself through the window.

Maybe it's because they are all tired, but Padme's sure, somewhere in the back of her head, there is a better way of going about all of this. One of them couldn't have been waiting in a speeder to chase the droid down to the changling. They didn't have to bust through her window again. Not that she really cared, but if they are sent back a third time to do this, he's going to overshoot or something. This can't be something that they keep doing. Seriously.

Anakin hops off the bed and runs from the room. Dorme comes rushing past him a moment later stopping at the doorway, looking around frantically before seeing Padme laying on her stomach on the floor, staring up at her.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Dorme asks, rushing over to her. "What are you doing on the floor?"

"I'm fine," Padme says. "And I tripped."

Dorme helps Padme to her feet and out of the room as her guards piled into the room. They go through that nonsense one more time. Padme explains what happened to the Senatorial guards and her own. Someone comes in to fix the window as the guards remove the bug in little plastic baggies. Padme goes through all the questions again, and once it was over, she waited for them to leave before curling up on the couch, exhausted. Her home was a mad house for hours as they try to ensure that her life is no longer in danger and they have gathered all the evidence that they need.

"I'm going to have to cancel all of my meetings," Padme says, rubbing her forehead roughly, now that it's just her and Dorme again. Padme's guards all piled out of the room as well to secure the area once more.

"Can I get you something, my lady?" Dorme asks, standing at her side.

"No, Dorme, thank you," Padme says, closing her eyes. "I'm just going to lay here for a while. You can go back to bed."

Dorme is quiet for a moment. Padme feels the couch dip a bit as Dorme sits down and places her hand on Padme's shoulder. "I'm going to stay with you, my lady, if you will permit it."

Padme opens her eyes and stares up at her longtime handmaiden and friend, seeing the pretty young girl stare back at her with kind brown eyes. Padme offers her a soft, sweet smile. "Thank you, Dorme. I would love the company." Dorme smiles back at her, seemingly grateful.

 

The next morning, when Anakin and Obi-Wan finally stumble back into her apartment, everything immediately starts moving. Obi-Wan sends word to the Masters, basically explaining the situation. Obi-Wan "picked up a lead" on who could be behind this attack, and was going to search for answers, while Anakin and Padme were going into hiding, away from the prying eyes of Padme's possible assassin until it's time for her to return to cast her vote about militarizing the Republic once more. Honestly, knowing what she knows, Padme can't bring herself to care about this vote. Regardless of her beliefs, they need the Clone army in order to stop the Separatists.

As much as she wants to open up some kind of diplomatic dialogue, she knows that it'll take time and she's going to have to be a lot more clever about how she goes about it. Count Dooku and Palpatine are going to make this entire thing very difficult for her to do. They will do everything they can to keep this war going on as long as they can in order to fill the people's hearts with hate for the Jedi, make Anakin's hatred stronger and his belief in the Jedi weaker.

Padme and Anakin get off of the tram with Obi-Wan, Padme having already thanked her captain for everything and promising to be back soon, so that the three of them could have one more moment to talk in private before they separate.

"Be good, you two," Obi-Wan says, rubbing his forehead, exhausted.

"Obi-Wan, please be careful," Padme says, stepping over to him and placing a hand on his arm. "I know you can handle yourself, but you're tired. Get some rest before you head out, okay?"

Obi-Wan smiles faintly, patting her hand on his arm. "Thank you, Padme. I appreciate the concern, but I'll be alright. As for the two of you, be careful as well."

Padme pulls her hand back and steps next to Anakin once more. "We will. Thank you, Obi-Wan." Padme and Anakin bow to Obi-Wan before turning to leave. They only make it a few steps when Obi-Wan calls out to them.

"Anakin?"

The Knight made Padawan once more, freezes for a second, closing his eyes before turning around and opening them again. "Yes, Master..?"

Obi-Wan looks around for a moment, as if greatly uncomfortable by something, mentally warring with himself. Finally, he lets out a slow sigh, cupping his hands in front of himself and saying, without looking at Anakin, "Good luck out there. I hope you are able to save your mother and everything works out fine."

Anakin smiles a bit, also looking away. "Thank you, Master. May the Force be with you."

Obi-Wan nods, bringing his eyes up to lock with Anakin's. "You're welcome. May the Force with you as well, Anakin. Padme." He gives the faintly smiling Senator a little nod.

She quickly hides her smile and nods back. "Obi-Wan." With that, Padme and Anakin both head down toward their transport. Padme had called ahead to the Queen on Naboo and requested a ship for them to be able to take to Tatooine. She was not happy about Padme's decision not to just stay on Naboo, but agreed to help her out anyway. They are going to Thead on Naboo and then straight for the Lars home in hopes of being able to save Shmi Skywalker before it's too late. Then maybe, just maybe, they are on the right path to saving their future.


	4. Growth

Anakin made sure that Padme was sitting next to the window so that he was blocking anyone from being able to reach her directly. They know that Padme's not in danger, especially with Anakin at her side, but that doesn't mean he's not protective. Padme looks up at him, smiling sweetly and reaching out to take his hand, interlacing her fingers with his own.

Anakin smiles thinly back at her. He pulls his fingers back, turning his palm up so that they can be palm to palm. Padme looks around for a moment, making sure that there wasn't anyone there who she would recognize, and lowers her head onto his shoulder and closes her eyes. She's tired, and knows that he is too. They have been through so much these last few days, and she knows that he's not going to be getting much sleep in the foreseeable future. She's worried. She knows he won't sleep here, in this public place, but she hopes that they will be able to get a ship from Naboo soon so that he can sleep on the way to Tatooine. It wouldn't be an overly long time, but at least he would be able to rest a bit before the madness of Geonosis.

"Get some sleep," Anakin says, kissing her forehead, seemingly enjoying the fact that neither of them care to hide themselves at the moment. No one knows who they are, and even if they did, the two don't really care. They almost lost one another. They are going to do everything they can in order to spend as much time together as possible. And they are going to make everyone moment count.

Padme snuggles against his warmth, closing her eyes. She knows that she is going to need to rest some before Anakin even considers some for himself. So long as they are surrounded by strangers, he won't sleep, but once it's just the two of them, he'll probably rest, so long as he knows that she'll be awake the entire time. She can feel Anakin relax a bit around her, seeming to soak the same comfort from her presence and closeness that she does from him. No matter what terrible thing transpired between them, Padme knows there is good in him. She can feel it. She won't give up on him so easily.

Padme's not sure if she's dreaming or not, but she can almost feel Anakin's lips on her forehead, beneath her headdress and a whispered apology against her skin and kissing her again. Whether she was dreaming it or not, she is too tired to tell, she snuggles closer to his warmth before everything goes black.

 

Padme and Anakin both bow low to Queen Neeyutnee as she walks down from her throne to them.

"Senator Amidala," the young queen says, not even being a teen yet, "please, raise your head. You as well, Master Jedi." Padme and Anakin both rise and Padme holds her hands out to Neeyutnee. The younger girl smiles, and takes them, looking a bit relieved to see the Senator. "When I heard of the threats on your life, Lady Padme, I was worried for your safety."

"My Queen," Padme says softly, "there is no need for you to be so formal with me, remember?"

The Queen blushes, sending a half glance over at Anakin, like he would judge her for her slip up. Anakin offers a thin smile but says nothing.

"Forgive me, Senator," Queen Neeyutnee says, squeezing Padme's hands before releasing them. "I suppose to me, you will always be our beloved Queen Amidala. I meant no disrespect."

Padme shakes her head. "No disrespect taken, my lady. I would like to thank you for being so understanding of our situation. Oh," she gestures toward Anakin, "this is Anakin Skywalker. He is my guard for the time being."

Neeyutnee turns toward Anakin and offers a kind smile. "Thank you in advance for your vigilance, Jedi Skywalker. Senator Amidala's life is very important to us. But, Padme," she looks over at the taller girl, "are you certain that you won't need any more protective detail? I trust in the Jedi's ability but this is your life on the line." Her eyebrows pull together tightly in worry, creating creases in the white make-up.

Padme smiles softly. "Anakin is one of the strongest people I know, close friend and ally and a most trusted confidant. I know that my life is safe in his hands. I do not need any other guards. Anakin is more than enough for me, so please do not worry about that."

Anakin bows his head a bit, but smiles bashfully. For so long, no one has ever really said anything complimentary about Anakin, to him, it's got to be uplifting to hear it, even if it is from someone like Padme, who has always been in his corner. Padme believes that Anakin does so much good but is usually never recognized for it. People will call what he does reckless but effective, but they don't just say that he did a good job. Not usually. Just Palpatine, probably. And Padme has heard Obi-Wan say it, but that is so few people. Anakin does so much good for such little recognition.

The Hero without fear. The people of the Republic called him that because of his heroics and the Clones under his command - and even those that aren't - aspire to be with him and serve with him. But his enemies and even the Jedi use the title as if it was something to be ashamed of. It's sad. She's sure the Jedi do not mean it that way, but it comes off that way and Anakin is sensitive to things like that.

It breaks Padme's heart. Hopefully this time around is going to be different. Padme is going to be better than she was before. She's going to make sure Anakin knows that he is appreciated and loved. He doesn't have to go to Palpatine. He doesn't have to fall to the darkside in order to be freed from his fears. They will be able to fight anything and everything that comes their way. They are so much stronger together. Them, Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, even Duchess Satine. Together, the five of them as a unit, can do anything.

Padme firmly believes that. She's going to do whatever she can to keep Ahsoka with them, and stop the horrible series of events that lead to Satine's death. She's not sure how yet, but with Anakin and Obi-Wan at her side, she knows that they are going to be able to do it.

Neeyutnee looks over at Anakin. "I apologize. I meant no disrespect."

Anakin shakes his head, clearing his face smoothly. "There is no need to worry, my lady. I will protect Senator Amidala with my life. She will return safely to Coruscant by the end of this. I swear it."

The young queen nods. "Yes, I wish the best of luck to both of you. Please, be careful in your travels, Senator. As for the ship that you have requested, you are welcome to take it. Be safe and know that you have all of our thoughts with you."

Padme and Anakin bow low to her once more, both thanking her.

"Thank you, my lady," both of them say in unison.

Queen Neeyutnee nods and turns to head back to her office on the other side of the room. Anakin and Padme take that as a smooth dismissal, so they leave the room.

"Do you know where to go?" Padme asks, looking up at Anakin.

The Padawan stares down at her mistrusting. "Yes. Why? Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stock up on medical supplies," Padme says. "If we can save your mother, she is going to need skin ointments, bandages, antibiotics, things of the like. I'll need to get that here. Tatooine is a lawless wasteland, I doubt we will be able to get what we would require on trade alone. Medical supplies are expensive, yes?"

Anakin grins back at her, nodding. "It is a lawless wasteland, yes. Good thinking." His amusement, and his smile, fades and it's all business once more. "I will prepare the ship so that we can leave as soon as you get back."

Padme reaches out and touches his arm. Anakin looks down at her with large gray eyes, open and worried. "We are going to save her."

Anakin nods. "I know." He pulls away and makes his way down the hall. Padme watches him go until he rounds the corner and is gone from sight.

 

Padme fills up a backpack with medical supplies of all kinds. She's got a bit of medical training during her time as queen, and then again when she became Senator and she entered an entirely different and dangerous battle field. She's not sure what exactly she is going to need in order to help Shmi, so she grabbed a little bit of everything, hoping that she doesn't miss out on anything.

Padme also makes sure that grabs a few blasters, knowing that she is going to need them. One, that is already assembled, and another that is just a few small pieces that she can quickly put together. It doesn't really look like a blaster, and it's only good for a couple shots, but it's better than nothing. She knows she's going to need it in the arena and knows that the Geonosians weren't going to really check her for weapons like they did the first time. Or, at least, she's hoping so.

The young senator makes her way to the landing pad to see Anakin talking to one of the workers, making sure that everything is in order before they leave. He turns to look at her as soon as gets close.

"Ready?" He asks.

Padme nods, offering a smile toward the dock worker before looking back at Anakin. "I am. Are you?"

Anakin nods. "Yep. Everything is in order."

"Good," Padme says, neatly folding her hands in front of her. She walks up the end ramp and into the ship, setting down the backpack between the pilot and co-pilot seat and lowering down into the soft leather of her seat. She stretches her arms up above her head, letting her spine stretch as far as it can, listening to the pops roll up between the vertebrae before she relaxes again. Anakin comes in a few moments later, R2-D2 chirping happily next to him as he makes his way over to the pilot's seat.

Padme smiles. R2-D2 was a very good little friend to Anakin. After Padme and Anakin married, Anakin gave her C-3PO because where he was going, he wouldn't really need him other than a handful of times for translation in some of the more obscure languages of the galaxy, but he was built originally to help Shmi around the house, so it was only natural for Anakin to leave C-3PO with Padme. He would be doing what he was built to do in the first place.

So it was an equal trade. Padme gave him R2-D2 because he's an astromech droid that was condemned to her home because she stopped really leaving Coruscant other than her occasional times returning home. Just like with C-3PO it's only natural that R2-D2 went with Anakin. He was built for space and the type of missions that Anakin would be doing, he would need a loyal little buddy who would always have his back. Padme knew that their few interactions when Anakin was a little boy was enough to spark a fledging relationship.

When they met again, R2-D2 was ecstatic to see him again. Padme has no idea why, but knew that they became very good friends during their time together.

Anakin smiles down at the silver and blue astromech droid, reaching out and placing his hand on the top of it's shiny frame, finally acknowledging the bot. "Hey, buddy. Sorry I haven't said anything before."

R2 beeps happily, wiggling under his hand. Anakin runs his fingers over the smooth surface, his smile thinning out a bit. Staring into the shiny frame, Anakin is looking at something in his memories that Padme has to wonder about. His expression softens a bit, but doesn't alert her as to what it is that he's seeing. With the purple crests under his eyes, it makes Anakin look forlorn.

Padme is curious as to what he sees but doesn't want to pull him from his thoughts. She doesn't have to wait long for him to come back to her, though. He blinks a few times and pulls his hand away from R2's head and turns his char around toward the front.

"We have a long time until we get to Tatooine, R2, we'll scrape together some parts and give you an upgrade. How does that sound?" He punches in the coordinates to Tatooine before firing up the ship and lifting up off of Naboo's surface.

R2 rattles, pleased, chirping a few times, before turning around and heading to the back of the ship.

After they get far enough away from Naboo's atmosphere, Anakin fires up the hyperdrive and they jump into hyperspace.

"Anakin," Padme says, turning to look over at her husband.

"Yes?" Anakin rubs at his face roughly.

"Before you work on R2, maybe you should get some sleep. You must be exhausted."

Anakin looks over at Padme, blinking slowly. "Maybe, but I don't want to sleep yet."

Padme's eyebrows pull together. "Why?"

"I don't want to see her in my dreams," Anakin admits, rubbing at his forehead more. "It was horrible leading up to her death, and then afterword, knowing that I failed her. I just can't do it. Force visions can't be woken from. Not like dreams."

Padme stares at him, sympathetically, wishing that she knew the magic words that could be said in order to make him feel better. In order to lift his spirits and assuage him of his fears, but she didn't know them. She didn't know what to say. Padme looks out at the hyperspace lines, mentally debating on what to say before realizing the only thing that she can say.

Turning toward Anakin again, she wants to reach out to him but knows the distance that separates them would be too great for her arms and make her look silly, so she fights the urge. She knew what she had to say wouldn't be the magical thing that would somehow make everything great better. But she did know that there was something that she could say that would help him. It was something that she didn't say enough to him, even though a part of her knew that he needed it.

"I'm here with you," she says softly, staring into his eyes.

The corner of Anakin's lips pull down a bit in an attempt to not lose control of his expression. She can see the delicacy of his heart in his eyes. She was right on the money. He definitely needed to hear that. Maybe he didn't even realize how badly he needed to hear that. Padme isn't blind. She knows how delicate Anakin is and hates herself for not doing more the help him in his obvious need. But in his most delicate moments, Anakin shows this profound strength that exceeds anything Padme ever expected and sometimes forgets that he needs to be reassured too.

"I know," Anakin says, his voice strained.

"Try and sleep," Padme says. "I'll be right by your side the whole time."

Anakin's face looks pale and tired. He nods slowly, looking like he would rather not have to sleep just yet, but probably knew that he would have to get some sleep in order to be in tip-top shape when it comes time to deal with the rough Tatooine terrain. So, begrudgingly and tentatively, Anakin closes his eyes and lets out a long, deep sigh, sinking into his seat to try and find a bit of respite in his dreams.

 

Padme looks over her shoulder to see Anakin sitting in front of R2-D2, working diligently on the components inside. He slept soundly for a few hours but eventually his nightmares had him jolting awake and sweating profusely. Padme sat on the arm of the chair, leaning against him, running her fingers through his sweaty hair, kissing his forehead. She knew it was her fault that he saw that imagine again, but he had to sleep. Now he's feeling - hopefully - a bit better and ready to get his mind on other things.

Padme enjoys just sitting in her chair, watching as Anakin tinkers with R2. She's been watching him for a while now, as he brings R2 back up to his upgraded form that he had originally done for the faithful astromech droid. Normally, Padme would insist that he try and get a bit more sleep, but she still feels bad about already making him sleep when he didn't want to and see the imagine of his mother dying again, and she knows Anakin enough to know that when he's tinkering, it's a form of relaxation.

"Alright, buddy," Anakin says, closing the panel in front of him. "Do a systems check, make sure you have access to everything."

R2 rattles a bit, beeping happily before leaning back and doing as Anakin asked of him. After a few moments of silence, R2 beeps happily, rattling once more in affirmation that everything seems to be working fine.

Anakin grins at him, reaching up and patting his helm before pushing himself up onto his feet, reaching his long arms above his head and stretches as far as his body will allow, letting the cracks go from his elbows and shoulders, down his spine to his hips, knees and ankles, before relaxing once more. Anakin looks over at Padme and offers a thin smile.

"What?"

Padme blinks a few times, his voice pulling her from her mindless staring. "What, what?"

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Anakin asks, walking over to his seat and plopping down.

Padme turns her seat toward his, her feet running over the top of his before finding their own place on the floor between his own. She folds her hands neatly onto her lap. "I was just watching you. No particular reason. Why?" She smiles a bit. "Am I making your nervous?"

Anakin huffs, amused, a handsome smile crossing his face. He looks away, a blush coloring his cheeks. The look on his face, and the fact that he really is younger, brings Padme back in time to when they were on Naboo and he wasn't sure how to be romantic and take getting attention from the object of his affection in a very unprofessional manner.

As tense as the situation is, everything that settled over them based on what they did, what they lived through, and what is to come once more, Padme can't help but enjoy this time with Anakin. Their time together was always fleeting, always in secret, that being able to just laugh and joke with him and share small moments in public like holding hands on the transport off of Coruscant was a blessing. It doesn't undo all of the darkness that surrounds them, but it is helping - at least Padme - cope a bit with everything that is going on.

"Nervous?" Anakin mumbles, still smiling. "Me? No."

"I can't make you nervous?" Padme asks, amused.

Anakin grins a bit more. "Of course you can. I'm a wreck whenever it comes to you," he admits.

Padme's joking expression fades at that, realizing the implication of what he says. She closes her eyes for a moment. He always says things like that to implicate how serious the depths of his affections and his need to be with her, but Padme used to think they were a way of sweeping her off her feet. Who wouldn't love the idea of her husband loving her so deeply he says he wouldn't be able to breath without her? Padme didn't take his works as seriously as she now knows she should have. Anakin wasn't lying, he wasn't saying it to romance the pants off of her. He was telling her the truth.

"I guess we are both each other Achilles heel," Padme says softly, leaning forward to take his right hand, cradling it gently between both of her hands.

Anakin's smile fades and is replaced with sadness. He squeezes her hands. "I know." With his free hand and rubs at his face, looking tired. "I can't believe it all turned out that way. I can't believe how wrong it all turned out." His shame hangs over him like a thick black cloud over his head. She can see in the steel blue of his eyes the horrors that reflect back. He's still seeing what he's done behind his eyelids. He's still hearing the words that led him to the dark side. In some instances, he's still living in that moment, trying to figure out how it got that bad.

Padme squeezes his hand between her own, rubbing the pads of her thumbs up and down the back of his hand. He blinks slowly, pulling his thoughts back to the present.

"I don't know how it became like that," Padme admits. "We all did things wrong. You, me, Obi-Wan. Even the Jedi and the Senate. So many things and people went wrong, or did the wrong things. There is no denying that. But we are going to do everything that we can to stop it from happening again. I don't know what the end of this road is going to be like, but we have to do our best to make it the best ending possible. Right?" She squeezes his hand tightly between her own. "For us?"

Anakin nods. "I just don't know where to start to make this better."

"Talking is a good place, I think," Padme says, offering a paper thin smile at his amused huff.

"That's always your go-to," Anakin says, looking up into her eyes with a thin smile of his own.

"You have to admit that I'm right most of the time," Padme says, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

Anakin nods very slowly. "Yeah. You are, aren't you."

Actually, Padme believe she was wrong far more than she was right, and knew that Anakin was humoring her, because they wanted to go back to the way things used to be - when it was good - and this is their way of trying to get back to that place.

"Before you and Obi-Wan head to war," Padme says, the words taste bitter on her tongue. The last thing she wants is for them to go running off into the dangers they barely survived the first time around. Padme swallows her worry and continues, "we all need to sit down either with or without Master Yoda and hash it all out between us. I think that will lead us down the correct path. Whatever that may be. For us, those we love, and our family."

Anakin closes his eyes and leans back, twisting his body a bit so that he would still be able to hold onto Padme's hands. "Yes..."

 

Once they arrive on Tatooine, Anakin doesn't spare even a moment to speak to Watto about his mother. He already knows where she is. She's with the Sand People tribe that took her off of the Lars property.

"I think I can guess where they are," Anakin says as they head toward the Lars moisture farm.

"What are you saying?" Padme asks, tying her hair back into a tight bun on the back of her head to keep it out of her face. "Do you think we can just go and get her rather than stop and see your in-laws?"

"It's just a waste of time," Anakin says. "There is break down one person speeders in the floor boards of this ship. If we park it close by, it might be able to get us there, pick up my mom and back carrying the three of us." Anakin scratches the top of his head, mentally debating.

"But we still have to wait for nightfall, don't we?" Padme asks. "Not that I want her to endure any more torture than I'm sure she already has, but wouldn't it be easier, and safer, to wait for nightfall?"

Anakin rubs at his shoulders, looking like that was the last thing he wanted to do - wait - but seemed to see a bit of logic in her words.

"Plus, we would have to return her to the Lars farm to be able to properly care for her," Anakin says, eyes narrow. He looks down at his right hand for a moment, still not used to having it back, before he shakes the feeling away and focuses on driving. They head right for the Lars farm. They land just outside the farm land and exit the ship, heading for the house. Unlike before, C-3PO isn't outside inspecting one of the moisture vaporators, but he is ascending the stairs leading down to the garage.

He looks over at them and makes his way over, a bit of pep in his step that Padme has come to expect from the cyborg.

"Why, hello there! Welcome to the home of Cliegg Lars. I am C-"

"-3PO," Anakin cuts him off.

C-3PO tilts his upper body in confusion, stopping a few feet away Anakin and Padme. He looks between the two of them, pausing a moment of Padme's face, probably faintly recalling her face seeing as she hasn't really changed, then to Anakin who has changed much since he was last with the cyborg. He spares a moment to look between them one last time before his eyes settles on Anakin.

"Master Ani?" C-3PO gasps in surprise. "Oh, my! It has been so long! Ten years, I think."

Anakin nods, impatiently. "I know, C-3PO. It has. Where is my mother?" The question comes out flat. He doesn't have time for this. He just wants to leave so that he can get his mother away from the Sand People. Padme can sympathize with his eagerness and worry. They are weeks ahead of when they showed up last time where she died two days after they showed up on Tatooine and Anakin found her. Hopefully this means the torture hasn't gotten so bad and her wounds haven't had enough time to fester in order for her to pass this time around.

C-3PO jerks back a bit, as if shocked. He looks around, suddenly apprehensious. "I... believe that you should come with me to speak to the Master of the house."

"Okay," Anakin says, waving his hand for C-3PO to lead the way.

C-3PO leads them down into the garage, stepping aside so that a man coming up the stairs could pass. It wasn't anyone that Padme recognize, but he did give them a once over, surprised to see strangers. He doesn't stop, though, he keeps going up the stairs. Anakin watches him mistrustfully, letting Padme go between himself and C-3PO.

Is it just her, or is he a lot more protective than he was before? Or, could it be that doing the parallels between the first time they were here and now, it just seems that way because of how much Anakin - and she - has changed after everything that they have gone through. Does it take going back to a moment they have already lived through for her to see just how different he is? Not that changing is wrong in any way. Padme, herself, knows that she has changed drastically since Anakin has come back into her life, so she would have no room to speak about someone else changing.

She doesn't think it's bad that Anakin has changed in the three years that separated their last moments in the life they lived and now. It's just interesting to get the perspective. She has to wonder if Anakin has noticed his own change let alone hers.

"Master Lars," C-3PO says, gesturing toward Padme and Anakin as soon as they reach the entrance to see a fully intact Cliegg Lars. This was before they went in search of Shmi and he lost his leg in the fight. "This is Master Anakin, Mistress Shmi's son."

Cliegg's face lights up in surprise, stepping closer and offering is hand for Anakin to shake. Politely, Anakin does, but doesn't go beyond the single shake of the hands before pulling his back.

"Shmi's boy," Cliegg says, surprised. "She told me that you became a Jedi."

"Where is she?" Anakin asks, blandly. Padme had to wonder what Anakin thought of Cliegg. He was mistrustful of the man the first time he met him too and she first wrote it off as him simply being uneasy about his mother's situation and just being cautious, but now she has to wonder if there is a hint of jealousy for the man who got to spend the last few years with Shmi that Anakin simply didn't get to. She wasn't sure.

Padme looks beyond Cliegg at the garage, half-listening to the older man about how Shmi was kidnapped off the property by Sand People while she was taking care of one of the moisture vaporators. He takes a moment to explain once more - at least in their case - to Anakin about how he bought Shmi because he loved her and took her as his wife, not because he wanted her as a slave. Just like the first time around, Anakin didn't seem like he completely believed that, but was willing to give them man the benefit of the doubt and not just skewer him alive without knowing for sure.

"We will go get her," Anakin says, turning away finally, not even bothering to acknowledge the older man's words about the marriage to his mother. Either Anakin wasn't willing to take Cliegg at his word and wanted to wait to speak to his mother to see her take on it, or he simply didn't care at the moment and his sole focus was going to get his mother, because he doesn't really let anything Cliegg said in regard to his relationship with Anakin's mother get to him.

"We were banning a group of men together - about thirty or so," Cliegg says, following after the taller, younger man as he heads back to the entrance of the garage, "and we were planning on leaving here in a few days to go looking for her. There are some of our best hunters out there tracking the tribe that took her."

"No need," Anakin says, heading up the stairs. Padme follows behind Cliegg all the way to the top. C-3PO follows behind her, making soft noises of worry and confusion.

"How will you know where they are?" Cliegg asks once they reach the top. "The desert is big out there and the Sand People know it better than we do. How do you expect to find her?"

It was a logical question. Anakin knew where they would be, weeks from now. But the Sand People tribes don't just stay in the same place for weeks and weeks on end. They are nomadic. They have to move and hunt to survive. They can't just settle in one place for long. Well, they can, but they prefer not too. It's rare for a tribe to form that is large enough to make a large enough camp that wasn't made up of tents and easily broken down bungalows.

Anakin stops for a moment, probably thinking the same thing that she is. He turns slowly to look back at the three that follow him and Padme realizes that he doesn't look like he's going to begrudgingly agree with him and shares her thoughts. In fact, he looks like he's concentrating on something. He's there with them, in the moment, but a part of him is somewhere far away.

"Don't worry about that..." Anakin says, blinking slowly. His eyebrows pull together tightly and he turns to look out over the flowing golden waves of sand as the two suns beat down on them, dipping toward the horizon at last. "I can sense her. I know where he is."

If they were truly not only in this moment, but without their mindset of three years in the future, Padme would be awfully skeptical of Anakin's ability to be able to sense his mother across the large expanse of the desert, but she knows Anakin. She knows that he is unbelievably powerful. He was adamantly sought after by a Sith Lord. She knew that he wasn't just grasping at straws.

Anakin was able to sense his mother. He was becoming more and more powerful.


End file.
